


They Have Turned Away (The Way You Never Would)

by DilynAliceBlake



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Incest, M/M, Twincest, h/c, hurt comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25383586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DilynAliceBlake/pseuds/DilynAliceBlake
Summary: Roman is feeling rejected and overlooked by his friends at every turn.  When he has no one else for comfort, he ends up going to the one person he knows that he can always rely on, no matter what.  Remus is there for him, just like always, but Roman doesn't plan to leave him behind again for the sake of others' opinions.  Maybe he was too hasty in rejecting Remus' feelings before, but is he brave enough to act on what's between them now?
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acerbumdulce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acerbumdulce/gifts).



Roman was leaning into Remus’ side on the couch of his twin’s apartment, exhausted from the emotional fall he had recently faced. When he’d had nowhere else to turn he’d found himself hesitating at Remus’ door, only to be met with concern and understanding.

“Thank you,” Roman said, voice low and raw from the tears he hadn’t been able to stop.

“Always, Ro-Ro, I’ll never not be there for you.” Beneath him, Remus tensed slightly, and the hand that had been stroking through Roman’s hair was removed. “What else are brothers for?” he strained out, and a jolt of regret went through Roman at the reminder.

“No,” he pulled out of the hug, and felt guilty at the instant shift in Remus’ face to resignation. “No, I don’t think that’s what you meant.” The fragile smile on Remus’ face was so obviously forced. Roman took a deep breath, bracing himself for the apology he knew he owed. “I’m sorry, Remus. I should never have reacted the way I did to your confession, and, belated as it may be, I hope you will consider forgiving me for putting so much stock in what the rest of the world thinks.”

Remus’ smile turned shaky. “Sure,” he huffed, tone artificially light in a failed attempt to smother his fears, “You say that now. What about the next time you have friends to consider? We both know that you’ll go right back to hating me, when it’s what they need.”

“No,” Roman argued, voice quiet but gaining strength, “I don’t think I will.”

And despite how achy his eyes felt and red his face must be, he wasn’t worried about what Remus would think of him when he leaned forward until their lips met. He never had to pretend to be perfect for Remus. It was high time that Roman was allowed to be himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Remus never expected Roman to kiss him. It breaks his heart, just a little, to know that without all the posturing this is what Roman really wants, underneath. It hurts because if he lets himself, he could have this. Could almost forget the truth of who Roman is. But Remus is the one who doesn’t care about what anyone else thinks. Roman is all posturing and performance. He would feel honor bound to stay by Remus’ side, no matter how many people it drove away. 

Remus could never allow Roman to do that. He can’t hold his brother to promises made when Roman isn’t thinking clearly. If he lets this go to far, then he risks the chance that his twin will regret it, and Remus can’t be the cause of that. 

Good and bad may be just made up concepts, but Roman’s feelings are real, and something to take into consideration. So Remus doesn’t let himself enjoy the kiss. He pops the bubble before the illusion can grow too tempting for him to turn away. 

Roman is choosing him, yes, but only when there’s no one else’s judgement to consider. Only now that he isn’t risking anyone else’s good opinion.

So Remus says no, says he isn’t going to take advantage of the emotional turmoil Roman has found himself in. And Roman? Roman takes Remus’ rejection as a _challenge_.


	3. Chapter 3

Roman should have suspected that one kiss wouldn’t be enough to assuage Remus’ doubt, after the last time they’d found themselves facing the topic of their feelings. The rejection doesn’t deter him from his newfound determination. He’ll prove to Remus that his feelings aren’t conditional, because that’s what Remus deserves. Someone who will be there for him through thick and thin, just like he’s always been for Roman.

He doesn’t insist out loud that what he’s feeling isn’t temporary. Words will hold little merit in the face of action, and until his present determination holds up against the hesitancy of his past, Remus is within his rights to doubt him. Roman will just have to shake that doubt, one day at a time.


	4. Chapter 4

It goes unsaid, in the days that follow, that Remus wants him. This is a true and immutable fact; it has never had to be said, it is unchangeable. What’s new to their dynamic is the addition of the open admittance of Roman’s own feelings. Roman seems to settle into everything quickly, but Remus finds himself jarred at every turn. Roman stays respectful of the physical distance that Remus has imposed, sleeping in his own room and never pushing for more than that first kiss. He still manages to throw things into a completely new dynamic. He’s open with his dislike for Remus’ ideas, as always, but there’s a certain tone he takes now, one that means “I’m not your target audience, of course your ideas still have merit.”

More mind boggling than that are the smiles. Roman smiles at him constantly, little smirks and glowing beams alike. He teases Remus for staring, but it’s gentle, reciprocal. It’s a look that says Roman knows how he looks, and the appreciation is welcome. The sort of gaze Remus has only ever seen directed at others, because it’s openly flirty.

Roman is _flirting_ with him, and it’s going to drive Remus insane.


	5. Chapter 5

Just because Roman is willing to be patient doesn’t mean that he can’t nudge things along. The first step is to stop constraining himself, when he sees Remus looking and wants to bask in it. Before, when Remus was caught they would both ignore it, but now Roman doesn’t want to move past it. He lets himself enjoy the attention, and relishes the blush his sudden encouragement brings to Remus’ face. He catches Remus eyeing him, and gives a shimmy and a saucy wink. Now Remus is the one trying not to let the encounter linger, flustered as he is by the positive response.

Once Roman starts, it’s only easier to escalate. There’s a lot he’s been holding himself back from when around his brother, and he doesn’t quite realize how much he was fighting himself and repressing until he stops.

“Morning sexy,” he mumbles groggily, sliding past where Remus is sitting and brushing a hand across his twin’s shoulders as he goes by. 

“There’s coffee!” Remus announces, perhaps an attempt to change the subject. It doesn’t work.

“God I love you,” Roman announces, so easy and casual that Remus almost thinks he’s talking to the coffee itself. When he realizes it’s aimed at him for making it, he shifts under Roman’s drowsy satisfied gaze.

“It’s just coffee,” he argues, because this isn't something he was ready for. This is  _ domestic _ , and yes they’re living together, but he didn’t expect how different it would be from the last time. Now when he admires, Roman meets his eyes. Now when he eyes the sculpt of Roman’s body, Roman checks him out in return.


	6. Chapter 6

Remus does not, can not, will not let himself believe that this might last.

“Babe, which one should we get?” Roman asks, and Remus has already answered and turned to look at something else by the time he realizes they’re in public. He freezes, shocked down to his core, because the store is hardly empty, but Roman had acted just like he always does now. Yes they were only strangers, but Roman had still used the pet name where anyone passing by could hear. Did he even realize? Surely he mustn’t.

“You called me babe. In front of people.” Remus said quietly, and sees confusion and worry bloom in Roman’s eyes.

“Was I not supposed to?” he asks, concerned at Remus’ apparent discomfort. “I’m sorry, I thought you wouldn’t mind-”

“I don’t!” Remus rushes to assure, and then feels his face heat at the eagerness of his tone. He shouldn’t be doing this when he knows that it won’t end well, but privately he thinks that maybe Roman breaking his heart again might be worth it for the way he smiles, slow and pleased, and tacks on a ‘darling’ to the end of his next sentence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We pepper in a little sexual tension.

Roman is applying lip balm in the flavor of Remus’ favorite soda, and when he notices Remus staring, responds with a casual “Reminds me of you.” Remus’ brain short circuits, because that means that it’s not to make Remus think about kissing him- It’s because he likes to imagine kissing Remus.

“I have to go,” he says abruptly, leaving the living room for the safety of his own, and from the way Roman calls “Think of me,” after him, he knows why. Roman knows what he’s seeking privacy to do, and with inarguable permission to think of him, Remus absolutely _will_.


End file.
